


Undone

by Omnicat



Category: Tron - All Media Types, Tron: Evolution, Tron: Uprising
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguously Shippy, F/F, Gen, Illustrated, Other, Tron Fandom Ship Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-06
Updated: 2013-07-06
Packaged: 2017-12-17 20:51:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/871832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omnicat/pseuds/Omnicat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>D̨͘oǹ̵’̛́t̀ ̵̕͝f͢͝҉i̵̕g͢͜h͟t ͡it̡͟͠,͡͡B̴a͏̨s̨͜i̢c̢͝.̨ ́I҉͡͡’m҉ ̛g̴̢i̵̛v̢in̨͜ģ̷͘ ͏͏y҉̵̧óu͞ ̨͢a ̛g̵͢i͡ft͠҉!̶̛ ̧͝Ýǫ͘҉ur ҉͢͠s͢te̴͘͢r͘iĺ̴é ̕c͢o͝de̷͟ ̷͡͡w̸̛͡i̕͢l҉l̶ ̢̧b̸҉̛ec̢o͠͝m̴͘è͡͝ ̢s̨͜ome̷͢t̀ḩ̴͠in̶g̵ ͠b͏eţ̷͠t͟͢e̶͘̕r ̕͢–͡ ́̕s̕ò̡met̸hi̵̡̧n͟͡g̵̸͘ ̶r͘̕͠e̕a̡͟l̶.̀</p>
            </blockquote>





	Undone

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this fanart](http://www.journals.ru/journals_comments.php?id=3545838).
> 
> AO3 keeps eating my code for small caps. :( Does anybody know a way to make them stay put?

 

The Creator had given them knowledge. Stories of creatures from the other world, sleek, beautiful, strong and predatory: sharks and kraken and mermaids that ruled the deep dark of the analog seas. Life had emerged from those seas, long ago, as life had emerged from the Sea of Simulation.

Radia remembered it all after her death at the hands of her ruined brother-lover-friend.

Coming into being bit by bit, shifting, twisting, growing, flowing. Drifting, then swimming, and finally breaking and breathing.

She had been the first, and she had been naive.

Now she was the last, and she was deadly.

 

The Sea was viral. Everybody knew that.

Nobody cared.

The ISOs were dead; there was no-one _left_ to care. The poison didn’t affect Basics.

It hadn’t affected Paige – at least at first. She might have noticed on time if she’d still been a medic, but though the morals remained, the instincts had faded, patched over with combat programming. There was no trace of the pain and glitching in her code, and her directive said fight-or-fall, not find-and-fix, [alert], _fix harder_ , [alert], **[alert]**.

When her visuals started strobing it was already far too late.

[what’s happening to m–]

H̴̤̯̜ͅe͇̗͘l̪̬̱̩͉̻͞l̕o͚̪͙,̙̩͈̬͡ ͎̞̺͠l̛̹̺͕̫̬̤ͅi̬t͙̬͔tl̼͔e̲͉̼̗ͅ ̯̱̻̦̝̞p͖̣̼̰͍̣͖r͕͜o̢̭̘̼̝g̲͉͉͔͎̹͘r̮̺͙̙̞̱ͅam̺͈.̴̻͙͚̘̜͓̳ ̲̩̹͇̤͝ ͇̥̫̤̱̙͚

 

The pain was beyond anything she could process, beyond worms in her memories, beyond betrayal and death, beyond rejecting kindness –

D̨͘oǹ̵’̛́t̀ ̵̕͝f͢͝҉i̵̕g͢͜h͟t ͡it̡͟͠,͡͡B̴a͏̨s̨͜i̢c̢͝.̨ ́I҉͡͡’m҉ ̛g̴̢i̵̛v̢in̨͜ģ̷͘ ͏͏y҉̵̧óu͞ ̨͢a ̛g̵͢i͡ft͠҉!̶̛ ̧͝Ýǫ͘҉ur ҉͢͠s͢te̴͘͢r͘iĺ̴é ̕c͢o͝de̷͟ ̷͡͡w̸̛͡i̕͢l҉l̶ ̢̧b̸҉̛ec̢o͠͝m̴͘è͡͝ ̢s̨͜ome̷͢t̀ḩ̴͠in̶g̵ ͠b͏eţ̷͠t͟͢e̶͘̕r ̕͢–͡ ́̕s̕ò̡met̸hi̵̡̧n͟͡g̵̸͘ ̶r͘̕͠e̕a̡͟l̶.̀

[iso]

Memories surfaced like bubbles and joy rose like a splash.

Q̊̆uͪ͒ͮͤ̎̏͌ő͋̈́ͥ̎̈́r͛͌ͨ̓ra!̐͑̉ͩ̉̈́ͤ ̏ĺͪ̏ī͒͑ͤ̂̒tt̉ͯͭ̊l̂ͥ̋ͫ͗͌ẽ̋̍s̎͂i͑͑́͌͊ͭst́ẽ̀̿r̍̇͊-̊̉dǎ̏̈́̔ͥ̓̓u̍ͣͮ̿gͮͪ̈́͒ͪ͒ͬh͋̍̉͆t͂ͫ̄̄̒͐e̿ͮͯͧ̇r-͋̒̅̎̋ͪf̈́ͨ̇͐ͨ̽̎r͗͆ͯ͑ͮ̒̽i͋ͭ̅̔́̍e͐ǹ̀͑d

[murderer]

S͚̲̺̖̺͠u͈̤̠͇̠͉͢r̩v̮̞̱̻͈iͅͅv̥͜ͅor͇̥̻̝͎͚̮.̤̟̰̖͉̱͢ ͕T̥͙̮͍̼h̟̠͕i͞s͍̲ͅ ͈͚͟i̦̥̭s̥͖̠ ̰͓͖͔t̼̲̬̫̼͡h̵e ̵̻̮̫̝͍̳n͔̮̙̻ͅa͙t̳͍͉̩ur͖̲̱̕al̸̪̪͈͓̱̱ ͘o̥̳͙̟̥ͅr͚̥̣̦̦̭͈d̥̭̘e̖̲̭̟͇͢r͏̼͍̮̝ ̤o͈̮̝̟͜ͅf̛͙ ̩͔t̥͉ͅh̞i̦̺̲̼̗̙͟n̮̦͓g͔̫̬̼̫̱̱s̵̱͇̳.͇̠̪͓ ̬͓̱͝T̗̭̺͔͕͠h̴͇ȩ̭̻͉̤ ̴͓͖͔̖ͅf̨̘͍͚uļ̰͔͇̟̘͍f̪͠i̴l̩l͈i̴̭̼͓ng̲̱̟͎͓̗͘ ͇͈͉͉o̴̩̜̮f̛̬̼͓̭͚ ̬̪̰̬̭y̷͇̮͖o̟̩̹u͚͔͚̱̺r̼̠̙̲̯ ͖̺͚̞p҉̲͖̰̬̦͕u̬̺̥̟r̭̠͓̺͕̱͉͞po͙͔͉̩͟s̙̪̦̼̠̞e̗̤͇͈̯̠̭.͉̻͢M̷̯ỳ͓̙͈̼̯̝͚̯̙ ̦͙̰̰̘͇͡͡ͅd̰̫̘̜̺͇̖ͅe̴̝̦̖̙̞̩̫s̵̩̠͇̭̘͠t̞͇̖̹i͕͢n̮̖̣̭̦̞͡y͝͏̯̣̼.̨͈͎͎̜̪̰͓͍ͅ

[no. my purpose is my function is –]

I̴r̷̡r͢ȩl͡e҉̀v̶̵͝a̧n̡͠͞t͞ ̴̷n̴̕͢o̸w̧̛.̛͝ ̵Y͞oú̧͡r̕̕͠e̷͜j̛͞ec҉̨t͢͏ȩ̴̛d͜ ̛y̢͠͠o̷͘u̧r҉ į͏ń͜͞tȩn̴͟dȩ̴͜ḑ̵ ̨d̛́i͡r̷̵͡èc̢̕tiv͢e̛.͘You͜ ̶m̀a̴͟l҉̵f̵̡͠u̵̧͡n͢͡c҉t̶i̴͜on͝e̸d̶̶͝.̵͞

Her body was falling out of synch with [her] commands, moving of its own accord.

No – h̩͎́e̜̟̲̞͙̺͓̾̊̏͒ȓ̬̝̟̝̞̤̫s̹̙͔̥͎̬̋̊ͪ͋ͪ̿̌̒.̠͔̯͇̻̣͖͒̒̏̆͌ͬ̑̀ͅ

 

Radia rose, unbending and unbreaking herself limb by limb, voxels sliding into place shining and liquid, circuits scorching their way to the surface of her new render.

The light was like fire, red and gold and orange in subtle undulation.

 _Fitting,_ she decided. P̫͎̃̀ͅe͙̼͙͎̣̬ͧ̿ͦř̩͓̫͚̒ͣ̊ͥͤ́͊f̯̲͓̔̍̑ͧe̫̜̳̖̩̜͎͈͗͂́̃͌̊̍c̭̟̃̂ͫ̀̃͌̔t̠̮̹́̆́.͇̟̞̈̀̂

The Creator had given them stories about fire too. Fire and water, soot and smoke and destruction. The bitter taste of vengeance and the salt sting of tears.

The Grid knew none of those things, but Flynn had promised her people all of them and more.  
And in here or out there, she would have them.

 

Surface pressure, video, audio, energy cycling, processing speed, clock, disc – Paige’s world folded inward line by line, imput channels shutting down one after another, her mind quieting, darkening, emptying...

Personal history deleted. Function and ability ceased. Directive and purpose dissolved. The program was gone, the framework obliterated, the code repurposed, now another’s.

Yet something remained.

 _Something._ Fear. Amusement. Heartache. Joy. Loss wonder temptation. _Something._

Something held beauty, ugliness, love and hatred, right and wrong and just because. It knew nothing. Could do nothing.

 _Needed_ nothing.

It merely was.

In a cage of sickly yellow cracks and fissures was a soul.

 

“I know you’re there, Basic,” Radia slurred.

_My name is Paige._

“Paige... that’s beautiful...”

They slumped against the tilted remains of a wall, Paige easing them the last of the way when Radia’s grip on their body faltered. They rested and stared out over what they’d wrought.

There had been no salt or bitter, fire, water, soot or smoke. Only destruction and a thirst for vengeance that started to leak away only now, as tears, blindingly bright viral yellow.

“All I valued once was life and peace,” Radia whispered.

_As did I._

“What happened to us?”

_We met each other._

 

 _I guess you’ll be wanting this back,_ Radia said, wrapping her arms around their body one last time.

Paige stared at her in the reflection of the energy pool for a long time. Then she hung her head and hugged back. “Just don’t go anywhere.”

There was no-one else left.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments on older fics will ALWAYS remain welcome.


End file.
